Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-22

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Some people believe that it is best to accept a bad situation, such as an unsatisfactory job or shortage of money. Others argue that it is better to try and improve such situations.

Discuss both views and give your own opinion.

 

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Going with the flow and making peace with the cards that you have been dealt in life seems like the obvious choice for a lot of people, however accepting a job where one cannot find mental satisfaction or making do with poverty due to rampant inflation can be really tough to deal with. Such situations should be tackled with and improved with persistent effort and discipline. Few individuals believe that you should stay put and accept your fate while others want to challenge the fate and try their best to improve such dire circumstances. I personally believe that such situations need to be tackled with and improvised on, for a better standard of life and in this essay, I will provide reasons and examples discussing my viewpoints.

First of all, accepting a bad situation can undermine one's self respect and making do with a terrible job, where the boss is nagging at you all the time, punishing you for making small mistakes, and making your life miserable, such a job is not sustainable long-term and should be swapped for a better one. Trying to apply for new jobs and striving to make your life better can be the best approach. For instance, a low wage job where a person has no respect is not worth staying at, and should be gotten rid of for a much better job, where people value your work.

Secondly, striving to make your life better can give you a sense of motivation, drive, commitment, dedication and perseverance, which can help you later down in life as well. Accepting the cards that you have been dealth with at life, is something that only the procrastinators do, achievers try to make the most of what they have and try to go above and beyond. To illustrate, someone who was given a job by his big brother through the power of nepotism would stay at the job even if he has to put up with the ridicule, because he does not have the confidence or the drive to get another job through proper merit based system, however a person who believes in meritocracy would apply to a lot of jobs until he gets selected and change his life.

In conclusion, I believe that putting being disrespected, putting up with an obnoxious boss or suffering ridicule is something that lowers one's own self respect and self worth, which should never be tolerated. Unsatisfactory job or shortage of money can be really difficult problems but one should try their best to overcome tough situations because tough situations create strong men, and that is best for a thriving society.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student addresses all parts of the prompt by discussing both views on whether to accept or improve a bad situation, and clearly presents a personal opinion in the introduction and conclusion. The response contains relevant and well-developed ideas, such as exploring the psychological and professional impacts of staying in a dead-end job versus striving for career progression. The position is maintained clearly throughout the essay. However, there is a slight tendency to over-generalize and become somewhat repetitive in the supporting arguments, particularly when discussing self-respect and obnoxious bosses. Despite this minor limitation, the task is comprehensively answered, fitting comfortably within the Band 7 descriptors for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay displays a clear logical organisation and progression from the introduction through to the conclusion. Paragraphing is used appropriately, with distinct paragraphs dedicated to the introduction, the first viewpoint regarding jobs, the second viewpoint regarding motivation and perseverance, and the conclusion. A variety of cohesive devices are employed, such as "First of all", "Secondly", and "In conclusion", though some of the linking phrases and transitional elements border on being slightly mechanical or repetitive in structure. Referencing is generally clear, and the overall progression keeps the reader oriented throughout the response, successfully fulfilling the criteria for Band 7.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with some flexibility and precision, employing expressions such as "rampant inflation", "mental satisfaction", "nepotism", and "meritocracy". There are occasional attempts at less common lexical items, although some minor errors in word choice and collocation occur, such as "dealth with at life" instead of "dealt with in life" and "putting being disrespected" in the conclusion. Nonetheless, the vocabulary is more than adequate for the task, and spelling as well as word formation are generally accurate, allowing the text to read smoothly and placing it firmly at Band 7.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and conditional-like phrasing effectively. There is a good control of punctuation and overall sentence construction, with many error-free sentences present in each paragraph. However, a few grammatical errors and awkward phrasings persist, such as "Such situations should be tackled with and improved with", "dealth with at life", and the run-on structure in the opening paragraph. These errors do not impede communication, but their presence prevents the essay from reaching the higher standard required for Band 8.

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